


One Day in the Life

by ChasingTheQuill



Category: Moonlight (2016)
Genre: Black Gay Romance, Canon Queer Character of Color, Fate, Longing, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 09:04:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10408704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChasingTheQuill/pseuds/ChasingTheQuill
Summary: Separate but connected: one day in the life of Chiron and Kevin (pre-reunion).





	1. My Familiar

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe Chiron and Kevin wake up on some given day with the same thought... or after a similar dream...  
> or maybe they both hear/see/touch something that day which refreshes a memory... and a need.

He was a smooth-talking, nineteen-year-old with skin like caramel milk chocolate and thick black locs that swayed carelessly about his neck.  He’d been in the neighborhood less than a year, yet it seemed he already had a tight clique and everyone knew him.  The kid called himself Mars (after the planet or the candy bar, perhaps... Chiron had not yet taken the time to figure it out).  What Chiron knew for sure was that there was something about him that made Chiron's pulse jumpy, made him stare a little longer than necessary.  
  
Chiron was walking out of Benny's Convenience Store one evening when, "Whuts happenin, bruh.  You Black, ain't you?"  Mars was leaning against the wall right outside the door, music blasting from his over-sized headphones.  Chiron looked him up and down and bristled with discomfort.  "Yeah, I'm Black.  You askin coz...?" Chiron let the question hang in the air between them while the kid took his headphones off and reached out with a slender hand and an open smile. 

"Heard a lot about you, bruh.  These cats ‘round here be lookin up to you, man.  Got yaself outta juvie, got shit goin, made a name for yaself bruh.  Nuff respect."  Chiron shot him a quizzical look and turned to leave without a response.

"Hey listen.  If ya ever need... anythin, Black."  The kid dragged his gaze lazily from Chiron's eyes, down his body and slowly back up again, "…anythin at all, bruh. You holler at me."  He flashed Chiron a knowing smile before returning his headphones to his ears and slipping into the store.  Chiron felt his heartbeat thump faster as he shook his head and stared after Mars in breathless silence.

  
  
Later that evening, Chiron ran a good five miles before dragging his tired, sweaty self back to his apartment.  He felt buzzed, exhausted and restless.  He ran himself a hot bath and climbed in, instantly feeling some of the tension ease from his body.  He was feeling decidedly clear-headed and refreshed afterward, when he threw on some old school hip-hop and tried his mother's cell phone.  To his surprise and relief, she didn't answer the call.  He hung up without leaving a message and threw a frozen pizza in the oven.

Some hours later, Chiron was finally in bed drifting off to sleep when his mind dug up an image of Mars’ full lips, his laughing eyes and the way he’d licked his lips when he’d looked Chiron over.  Chiron felt a familiar restless stir in the pit of his stomach.  He was already half hard when he tossed and turned in a hopeless attempt to dispel his thoughts. 

Restless at midnight once more, he crawled out of bed and flipped on the TV to a random game on some sports channel.  The distraction worked for about ten minutes before remnants of Mars’ image bounced back and echoed in his mind.  Not unlike all the others before it, this image slowly morphed into a vibrant memory of a smiling face from the past he was trying to forget.  Before he could help it, the laughing eyes saw right through him... the full lips tasted of hunger and ocean breeze... and the wide smile gripped him and started a fire in the pit of his chest.

Chiron coaxed himself back into bed and stared unblinking into the ceiling... Unwilling to wander back into time, yet unable to resist the pull.


	2. Lost and Found

 

"Sure, Sam.  Not a problem… I understand.”  Kevin turned off the burner and stirred the steaming pot on the stove.  “Drop him off tomorrow afternoon.  I'll be kickin 'round here, so anytime is good."

He fixed himself a plate of hot spaghetti and popped open a cold, sweating bottle of beer.  He plopped into the armchair in front of the TV and took a swig of his drink.

"I feel you.  Like I said, it’s not a problem, Sam… Be seein you tomorrow."  He hung up and dug into his lunch, famished.

Kevin Jr. was meant to be spending the coming weekend with his mother, but she’d just called with a change of plans - something about certain plans for her upcoming wedding going awry.  Although Kevin had arranged a much-needed, solo weekend off for himself – beach time, some clubbing, relaxation – he also knew he wouldn’t consider turning down a few extra days with his boy.

Kevin flipped on the TV and resumed the movie he’d started the night before (some Tyler Perry flick featuring a super fine brotha Kevin could only think of as a tall, tasty distraction).  He multitasked as he watched; he ate, drew up a hurried shopping list and downed most of his beer.

He was more than ready for a nap when, lunch long eaten, the movie credits began to roll.  Before he could talk himself into giving in, he threw on a clean pair of jeans and headed down to the shopping plaza.

 

Kevin was flipping through a children's picture book at a kids supply store when he heard someone call out to him.

"Look who it is!  What's happenin, Kevin?"  He looked up to find Teresa standing at the end of the aisle; her young son, Kris hovering by her side.  She flashed Kevin a broad smile and came up to give him a hug.

"Teresa!  Good to see you.  Lookin fine as you always do," he squeezed her in warm hug and nodded at her son.  

She brushed aside his compliment and studied him with interest. “So, how you been, Kevin?!”

"I'm good... I'm good.  Tryna pick up few things for lil Kev.  He comin home tomorrow for the weekend."

"Good to hear!  You look like you livin good, Kev.  I heard Samantha gettin married next month or so.  You two still gettin along fine?"

"Yeah, we aight.  Her new dude a lil crazy tho', but hey, she seems happy, so.  We cool.  Lil Kev gettin bigger everyday..."

"Funny thing to be runnin into you like this today.  Was just talking to Chiron barely two days ago." 

Kevin froze for a minute and waited for her to say more.  When she offered up nothing more than a knowing smile, he let out a little nervous laugh.

"Cool.  So, how... how's he doin?" Kevin couldn’t help the tear in his voice or the sudden thumping in his chest.  Truth was, he’d been at a former schoolmate’s funeral a few weeks back and had run into a few familiar faces from back in the day.  One or two people had brought up the name Chiron, wondering to themselves where the poor kid had ended up.  He’d kept his mouth shut then and only managed to see Chiron’s face in a broken up dream that night.

Teresa sighed quietly and dragged Kevin back to the present.

"He somewhere up in Georgia these days.  Doin his own thing.  But you know Chiron.  He don't say much about nuthin to nobody.  He called me up tho’, and he sounded fine.  Given everythin.”

Kevin stood stock-still and stared at his feet.  His mind was going a mile a minute - jumping back to the last time he’d set eyes upon Black… skipping to bits and pieces from their last conversation… That look in Black’s eyes… all those looks he could not forget even if he tried.

“So you two ain’t spoke in a while, huh?” she asked, peering into his eyes.

“Nah… nah, we ain’t spoken since...” he trailed off, shuffled his feet uncomfortably and stared past her.  “Think you could gimme his number tho’?  Could give him a call one of these days…”  Kevin let the sentence fall off his lips.  She smiled at him and nodded in silence. 

_Yes, it would be something indeed to finally muster up the courage to make that call… put it all out there… wait for it... hear his voice again after all this time._

“Course I can give you his number.”  Teresa fished out her cellphone from her purse and brought up Chiron’s digits in her contacts. 

When he had entered the number into his phone, Kevin scraped up the nerve to ask another question.  “So, you know if he got any kids… married, maybe... how’s his mama doin..”

“From what I know, he ain’t… and his mama, she tryna get some help, doin better as far as I know.  But you gon call him up and find out these things for yourself, won’t you..”  She smiled up at him and reached in for another hug.  “I gotta run baby.  Two more stops before we drive out to my sister’s place.  We runnin late..” she squeezed his hands in hers.

“Thanks Teresa…was good to see you. You take care.”  He kissed her on the cheek and waved at her son, “You be easy, Kris”.  Theresa’s son looked up long enough from the phone he was idling with to return a shy nod.

 

They left Kevin standing there in the middle of the aisle, lost in his thoughts.  He stared at those ten digits on his phone, a roiling ache rising in the back of his mind.   He zipped through his shopping in a daze and was back on a bus homebound in less than an hour…

_Hey Black… Been meanin to track you down and call you up for some time now. Wonderin what's happenin with you. Still thinkin ‘bout you often.  Thought on you so much on your birthday only few months ago and just got myself fuckin wasted.  But that has nuthin to do with nuthin, so… I’ll just get straight to the point.  I fucked up.  I’m sorry, Black.  I’m so fuckin sorry.  You been good?  Hopin you been good.  What you up to these days?  Who you hangin with… you got someone?  Wouldn’t it be sumthin to see you again after all this time?  Like, sit across a table from you and take a real good look.  I bet your eyes or your smile ain’t changed.  Still… can’t blame you if you really don’t want nuthin to do with me after all this time.  It’s just that… I fucked up, Black..._

Brooding, Kevin dropped his shopping bags at his feet and closed his front door behind himself.  Whenever he felt this way, work, his customers, the diner were always a safe bet to help keep his head on straight.  He postponed the inevitable, called in to work and picked up a late-night shift.

His night at work was fairly slow and uneventful… That is, until he heard a song wafting from the jukebox that threw his mind for a loop and dragged that unyielding, hollow ache right back to the forefront of his mind.


End file.
